The structure, formation and operation of split gate non-volatile memory cell devices are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,927,994 discloses a split gate non-volatile memory cell device and its operation, and is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. This split gate memory cell device include an array of memory cells arranged in rows and columns. FIG. 1 illustrates a pair of such memory cells formed on a semiconductor substrate 12. Source and drain diffusion regions 16/14 are formed in the substrate 12, defining a channel region 18 therebetween. Each of the memory cells has four conductive gates: a select gate 20 disposed over and insulated from a first portion of the channel region 18, a floating gate 22 disposed over and insulated from a second portion of the channel region 18 and a portion of the source region 16, an erase gate 24 disposed over and insulated from the source region 16, and a control gate 26 disposed over and insulated from the floating gate 22. Preferably, the erase gate 24 can have an upper portion that is disposed vertically over the floating gate 22 (e.g. a vertical overhang).
The memory cells are arranged in an array, with columns of such memory cells separated by columns of isolation regions in an interlaced fashion. Each column of memory cells contains pairs of the memory cells in FIG. 1 arranged end to end, whereby each pair of memory cells share the same source region 16, and adjacent pairs share the same drain region 14. The select gates 20 for an entire row of the memory cells are formed as a single conductive line (commonly referred to as a word line WL), such that each word line forms the select gate 20 for one of the memory cells in each column of the memory cells (i.e. each word line electrically connects together a row of the select gates 20). The control gates 26 are similarly formed as a continuous control gate line extending along the row of memory cells (i.e. electrically connecting together a row of the control gates 26), and the erase gates 24 are also similarly formed as a continuous erase gate line extending along the row of memory cells (i.e. electrically connecting together a row of the erase gates 24). The source regions 16 are also continuously formed as a source line SL that extends in the row direction and serves at the source regions 16 for the entire row of memory cell pairs (i.e. electrically connecting together a row of the source regions 16). Conductive bit line contacts 72 electrically connect the drains 14 to a bit line 70, whereby each column of drain regions 14 are electrically connected together by a bit line 70. FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic representation of a portion of the memory array.
An individual target memory cell can be erased, programmed and read by applying various voltages to the selected lines for the target memory cell (i.e. the word line 20, bit line 70, source line 16, control gate line 26 and erase gate line 24 associated with the targeted memory cell), and by applying various voltages to the unselected lines (i.e. the word lines 20, bit lines 70, source lines 16, control gate lines 26 and erase gate lines 24 not associated with the targeted memory cell).
For example, for erase operation, the following voltages may be applied to the selected (Sel.) lines and unselected (Unsel.) lines:
WL (20)BL (70)SL (16)CG (26)EG (24)Sel.Unsel.Sel.Unsel.Sel.Unsel.Sel.Unsel.Sel.Unsel.0 v0 v0 v0 v0 v0 v0 v or −60 v9-11 v0 vto −9 vor 7-9 vDuring erase, a voltage of 9-11 volts is applied to the erase gate 24, to cause electrons to tunnel from the floating gate 22 to the erase gate 24. A negative voltage on the order of −6 to −9 volts may be applied to the selected control gate 26. In that event, the voltage applied to the selected erase gate 24 may be lowered to approximately 7-9 volts. It is also known to use a voltage of 11.5 volts on the selected erase gate line 24, with zero voltages on all other lines.
For programming, the following voltages may be applied to the selected (Sel.) lines and unselected (Unsel.) lines:
WL (20)BL (70)SL (16)CG (26)EG (24)Sel.Unsel.Sel.Unsel.Sel.Unsel.Sel.Unsel.Sel.Unsel.1-2 v0 v0.5-5 uA1.5-3 v3-6 v0 v6-9 v0 v6-9 v0 vDuring programming, the target memory cell is programmed through efficient hot-electron injection with the portion of the channel under the floating gate in inversion. The medium voltage of 3-6 volts is applied to the selected source line SL to generate the hot electrons. The selected control gate 26 and erase gate 24 are biased to a high voltage (6-9 volts) to utilize the high coupling ratio and to maximize the voltage coupling to the floating gate 22. The high voltage coupled to the floating gate induces FG channel inversion and concentrates lateral field in the split area to generate hot electrons more effectively, which are injected onto the floating gate 22. In addition, the voltages provide a high vertical field to attract hot electron into the floating gate and reduce injection energy barrier.
It is also known to use the following combination of programming voltages:
WL (20)BL (70)SL (16)CG (26)EG (24)Sel.Unsel.Sel.Unsel.Sel.Unsel.Sel.Unsel.Sel.Unsel.0.8 v0 v1.0 uA>1.08 v4.5 v0.5 v10.5 v0-2.5 v4.5 v0.5 v
For reading, the following voltages may be applied to the selected (Sel.) lines and unselected (Unsel.) lines:
WL (20)BL (70)SL (16)CG (26)EG (24)Sel.Unsel.Sel.Unsel.Sel.Unsel.Sel.Unsel.Sel.Unsel.1.5-3.7 v0 v0.5-1.5 v0 v0 v0 v0 v-3.7 V0 v0 v-3.7 V0 vDuring a read operation, depending upon the balance between program and read operations, the voltages on the selected control gate 26 and the selected erase gate 24 can be balanced because each is coupled to the floating gate. Thus, the voltages applied to each of the selected control gate 26 and selected erase gate 24 can be a combination of voltages ranging from 0 to 3.7 volts to achieve optimum window. In addition, because the voltage on the selected control gate 26 is unfavorable due to the RC coupling, voltages on the selected erase gate 24 can result in a faster read operation. It is also known in a read operation to apply a voltage of 1.2 volts on the selected word line and a voltage of 2.5 volts on the unselected control gate 26. During a read operation, the voltage on the select gate turns on (makes conductive) the portion of the channel region under the select gate 20. If the floating gate is programmed with electrons, the portion of the channel region under the floating gate will not conduct or provide little conduction. If the floating gate is not programmed with electrons, the channel region under the floating gate will be conductive. The conductivity of the channel region is sensed to determine if the floating gate is programmed with electrons or not.
As the memory cells are scaled down in size, the cell current is reduced, which can result in read errors. One option to increase cell current is to reduce the memory cell threshold voltage WLVT. However, lowering WLVT would increase column leakage current, which may cause programming errors. Therefore, there is a need to improve read performance and reliability without necessarily changing the memory cell threshold voltage WLVT.